Average length of time spent in Pupil Referral Units

Len Duvall: Please advise what is the average length of time a pupil spends in a Pupil Referral Unit in London before re-entering mainstream education? Please also advise of the target amount of time pupils are intended to spend in Pupil Referral Units in London.

The Mayor: As Mayor I do not have statutory responsibility for school-aged education.
Data from Pupil Referral Units (PRU) is collected through the School Census each January. This provides the number of children attending PRUs, free school meal eligibility, ethnicity, and whether they have special educational needs. It also reports on attendance rates. In the School Census the Department for Education does not report on the amount of time individual pupils attend an educational establishment. This means it is not possible to calculate the average length of time a pupil spends in a PRU in London using publicly available data.
School admissions are carried out within agreed local authority frameworks and under national legislation and guidance. Pupils attend a PRU for a variety of reasons which impacts on the amount of time that they spend there. It is important that every child gets the right support for their needs.

Violence Reduction Unit

Shaun Bailey: What specific projects and programmes are you planning to fund via the Violence Reduction Unit this year?

The Mayor: I set up the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) in autumn 2018 to address rising violence across the city.
We have spent the last year consulting with and listening to communities about what they view our key challenges to be across London, and what needs to be done.
We’re now investing £15 million in projects to stop the spread of violence, particularly in those parts of London most affected.
The spend programme takes a public health approach to tackling violence, which means looking at violence not as isolated incidents or solely a police enforcement problem. Instead, this approach looks at violence as a preventable consequence of a range of factors, such as adverse early-life experiences, or harmful social or community experiences and influences.
The Unit’s funding plans were discussed at the Partnership Reference Group meeting in January 2020 and full details can be accessed here:
https://www.london.gov.uk/moderngovmb/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=443&MId=6...

Violence Reduction Unit’s (VRU’s) strategic needs assessment and Homicide Review

Unmesh Desai: How are the VRU’s strategic needs assessment and Homicide review being used to inform its work programme and strategy development?

The Mayor: A Homicide Review was commissioned in April 2018 by the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) to a partnership between the Social Care Institute for Excellence and the University of Bedfordshire. The Homicide Review is looking at Domestic Homicide Reviews, Serious Case Reviews (now known as child safeguarding practice reviews), Safeguarding Adults Reviews, and Independent Investigation Reports (formerly known as Mental Health Homicide Reports) to review learning across the statutory review process.
As part of the same commissioning, the Behavioural Insights Team undertook a Strategic Needs Assessment, setting out the strategic needs and requirements across London and detailing the key causation factors, common patterns in relation to homicide.
The reviews set out a number of recommendations for the VRU and partners to consider in developing a longer-term strategy. Critically, this research revealed that there is a gap in our collective learning. With this new data, the Unit is now pressing the government to establish a mechanism for funded statutory reviews to take place for all homicides. The two pieces of work were published on 30 January 2020 and the full reports can be accessed here:

VRU funding

Unmesh Desai: Can you provide a breakdown of how the funding for the VRU has been allocated?

The Mayor: Keeping Londoners safe is my top priority and the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) was established to adopt a public health approach towards tackling violence in the capital. The Unit has spent the last year consulting with and listening to communities about what they view our key challenges to be across London, and what needs to be done. As a result, the Unit is now investing in projects to stop the spread of violence, particularly in those parts of London most affected. Their work is focused on a targeted preventative approach and includes investment in youth work, schools, diversionary activities, working to improve a mix of physical environmental factors alongside supporting young people who are most vulnerable because of Adverse Childhood Experiences.
Direct links to each published decision including funding allocations and details of programmes are as follows: